Mill Spring, NC – Oct. 19, 2017 – Tryon Fall V continued on Thursday, October 19, at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) with yet another fast-paced victory for Marilyn Little (USA) and Clearwater in the $130,000 Suncast® Commercial Welcome Stake CSI 5*. The pair sped through the jump-off track in a quick 38.941 seconds to secure the victory. Kent Farrington (USA), currently the top ranked show jumper in the world, guided Dublin, a 2007 German Sport Horse gelding (Cobra x Caribik), owned by Farrington and Tanma Corp, to the second place position after stopping the timers in 40.076 seconds. Margie Engle (USA) and Royce, a 2004 Oldenburg stallion (Café Au Lait x Petula), owned by Gladewinds Partners LLC, captured third place with a short-track time of 40.115 seconds.

Of the course, Little said, “I thought Olaf did a beautiful job designing the course today. You have to make the 5* courses complicated and I think he did that with the width of the jumps. It was very technical. There were still a good number clear after the first round and it was a fast jump-off, which I love.”

Margie Engle and Royce

The George H. Morris Arena is sporting several new jumps specifically made for the CSI 5* week, built by Eric Sassmannshausen and team at U.S. Precision Construction LLC (USPC), a manufacturing company operated by Tryon Equestrian Partners (TEP). Little commented on the freshness of the ring and how new obstacles helped to tune Clearwater’s focus in the ring.

“There are some new jumps out there and the skinny made it so much fun. They all really jumped well, but they went in and definitely noticed the change. Especially those of us that have been showing here for a while. There was a nice combination of filled in jumps and then some airy ones and it really helps keep their attention.”

Marilyn Little and Clearwater in their presentation ceremony with Tom, Jeannie and Lauren Tisbo of Suncast®.

“This is his first 5* week,” Little noted. “I’ve only prepared for this by waiting for him to get older. He’s a 10-year-old now. We’ve been bringing him along and just waiting for him to get stronger. He’s a real technician in terms of his rideability, and that came before his strength to jump the big jumps. He just keeps stepping up as he goes along, and you think ‘maybe this is all there is,’ and then he answers the next questions and I think he’s the real deal.”

Although he is very focused in the ring, Little described the gelding’s personality out of the show ring. “He is a total dude. We call him ‘Dish’, ‘Dishy’, ‘Dirty Dishes’ if he’s bad, and ‘Clean Dishes’ if he’s good. He’s just a total ham. He comes in from the paddock and is filthy. He walks in as a bay horse head-to-toe. He then comes out here and is a true showman.”

She concluded, “I don’t know how Saturday night will conclude, but I know he’s ready and he’s proving he can do it. I’m so proud of him.”

Earlier in the day, the Developing Jumper Championships presented by Spy Coast Farm continued at TIEC in preparation for the final on Saturday, October 21. Amongst the entries moving onto the final rounds in the 5 Year-Old, 6 Year-Old and 7 Year-Old classes is Doug Payne, piloting several mounts, including the 5-year-old Cascor, owned by Stephen Blaunder.

Of the gelding, Payne commented, “This horse was purchased for Eventing, but he’s a great jumper. We brought him over from Holland and broke him here and I’ve done everything with him thus far. What we generally try to do with the horses that are bred to jump, but could also event, is we steer them in what direction suites them the most. We actually just got back from the Young Event Horse Finals at Fair Hill, he’s competed through Training in Eventing, and this is probably the biggest jumping class he’s done.”

Payne is also riding the 6-year-old Quintessence, owned by Jane Dudinsky. “He’s a special horse,” said Payne. “He also has done Eventing. His last competition was at The Fork here in the spring. He’s crazy careful, and while I think he is a good eventer, I think that jumping is going to be where he is best suited. He’s a spectacular horse. I haven’t ridden anything like him. I’m very grateful to have this ride.”

Of the Developing Jumper Series concept, Payne concluded, “I think it’s critical to have these classes. In any sort of developing series, I think it’s critical for the success of this country’s future. At the moment, it’s far less expensive to develop them over in Europe. I think then we are in a pigeon-hold for sure because either you’re going to pay an astronomical price for a top-quality horse, or generally the ones for sale are second tier because the best ones are identified early and are not sold. I think for us to have a parallel developmental track, it makes it a bit more economical to get them off the ground and it should follow with a much stronger team in the years to come.”

The $35,000 1.45m Power & Speed CSI 5* saw top honors awarded to Santiago Lambre (MEX) and Casino N, as the pair dashed through the finish to stake claim on the first FEI class of the week. Lambre and the 2007 Swedish Warmblood gelding (Careful x Nicky), owned by Aurora De Alba, completed the short track in 31.695 seconds, ending the day at the top of the leaderboard.

“I went toward the beginning of the class,” commented Lambre, “I think that helped us a bit because the class was long with over 60 riders. I thought that the course was technical with the double vertical in the second phase, so it wasn’t so easy for us.”

Santiago Lambre and Casino N in their presentation ceremony.

The horse belongs to Lambre’s wife, Aurora, but he took over the ride for her as she is currently expecting a baby. “Casino is for my wife and I started to ride him about 6-months ago. He is a High Amateur horse, and she will start to ride him again when we get to Wellington,” he said.

Lambre has had a successful few weeks at TIEC, winning the $35,000 Horseware® Ireland 1.45m Classic CSI 2*, as well as the $35,000 Suncast® Commercial Welcome Stake CSI 2* during Tryon Fall III.

Lambre stated, “We were here for the summer and have been here for the past few weeks. The horses know the arenas and are comfortable here.”

Tryon Fall V will continue Friday, October 20, with the $35,000 Horseware® Ireland Jumper Classic CSI 5*, the $20,000 USHJA International Derby and the $10,000 Hollow Creek Under 25 Jumper Classic. The highlight class of the week, the $380,000 Rolex Grand Prix CSI 5*, will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 21.

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